Mexico under AMLO

Militarising Mexico’s southern border will only increase violence against migrants

Militarisation of Mexico’s southern border has been increasing for decades, but the recent decision of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government to continue and even reinforce this trend will only intensify the violence and vulnerability that transit migrants already face, writes Alejandra Díaz de Leon (LSE Sociology).

Having a southern president for the first time since 1911 could see states like Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Guerrero receive the attention they need instead of being dismissed as a burden on national development. But without the right policies to generate the right outcomes, Mexico’s poor and deprived south could be left waiting once more for a positive change in its fortunes, writes Rodrigo […]

Between ghost unions and automation, reforming Mexico’s labour market will be a major challenge

Mexican workers are paid less and work more than their counterparts in the rest of the OECD, and the situation has only been getting worse. By broaching reform Mexico’s new president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has taken a step in the right direction, but he inherits a labour market plagued by informality, precarity, and lack of union representation, whereas automation poses a serious threat in the longer […]

AMLO will need an integrated approach to security to achieve peace and prosperity in Mexico

The key challenge for Mexico’s new president Andrés Manuel López Obrador will be to address the root causes of insecurity and violence in the country. This will mean promoting sustainable advances in inclusion and stability, but without jeopardising gains made in terms of financial stability, trade, and investment, writes Graciana del Castillo (CUNY).

AMLO’s balancing act: the democratic and economic challenges facing Mexico’s new president

The inauguration of Mexico’s new president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) will take place on 1 December after his landslide win in recent elections. Common expectations about democratic decline and economic continuity appear wide of the mark, but popular consultations on Texcoco airport and ten major development projects do create new economic uncertainties, writes Graciana del Castillo (City University of New York).

Populism in Mexico and Brazil: why are voters moving in opposite directions?

Differences in ethnic makeup, religious affiliation, institutional openness to outsiders, experiences of crime, and economic performance have driven Mexican and Brazilian voters in opposite ideological directions: left towards AMLO in Mexico and right towards Bolsonaro in Brazil. But this doesn’t mean Mexico will remain immune to right populism in future, writes Rodrigo Aguilera.

An epidemic of sexual trafficking and exploitation of women and children has turned Mexico into the “Latin American Thailand”. Incoming president Andrés Manuel López Obrador promises to tackle the corruption and impunity enabling these practices, but there is less recognition of their links to a neoliberal fantasy that was once presented as lifeline for poor communities, writes María Encarnación López (London Metropolitan University).

Discretionary rule of law in Mexico could undermine AMLO’s anti-corruption drive

Mexico has a long history of discretionary application of the law, as demonstrated recently by the government’s failure to prosecute corrupt state governors while they remained in office. Even from their position of political strength, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his Morena party may find it hard to revert this trend and make good on their promise to root out corruption, writes Rodrigo Aguilera.

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